Lenovo says its 'mission is to surpass' Apple and Samsung with the Moto acquisition

Google recently dished off Motorola to Lenovo for $2.91 billion, while holding on to a large share of Moto's patents along with the Advanced Technology and Projects group. After the acquisition, Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang gave an interview with Fortune regarding the deal where he talked about his plans to over take his biggest competitors, Apple and Samsung.

With Motorola, Lenovo becomes the third largest smartphone maker worldwide, and when asked how he feels about catching up to his top-seated competitors, Yang said his company's "mission is to surpass them."

It sounds as though Lenovo will market its smartphones with the Motorola brand, likely a smart choice considering Motorola's pedigree. However, Yang also mentioned there was some uncertainty regarding this issue still, saying the company will most likely "leverage the Motorola brand, but it could be something like 'Motorola by Lenovo.'"

Yang also told Fortune a little bit about how Lenovo became interested in Motorola when it split into Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions back in 2011, as well other plans regarding branding in certain countries. There will still be a waiting period while US regulatory groups finally green light the deal, according to reports the purchase will go through a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a group responsible for ensuring there are no national security risks taken through deals of this nature.